Thermodynamics of ligand-nucleic acid interactions

Ligand- and protein-DNA equilibria are extremely sensitive to solution conditions (e.g., salt, temperature, and pH), and, in general, the effects of different solution variables are interdependent (i.e., linked). As a result, an assessment of the basis for the stability and specificity of ligand- or protein-DNA interactions requires quantitative studies of these interactions as a function of range of solution variables. Many of the most dramatic effects on the stability of these interactions result from changes in the entropy of the system, caused by the preferential interaction of small molecules, principally ions which are released into solution on complex formation. A determination of the contributions of these entropy changes to the stability and specificity of protein- and ligand-DNA interactions requires thermodynamic approaches and cannot be assessed from structural studies alone.